Tuner/brake

[KMW 1954]

I am just in the process of ordering a new prefit barrel for my Savage Switchback 6ARC and my question is this, I have never shot with a brake or a tuner so I have zero experience with either and therefore no idea of the advantage or disadvantage is. So I am wondering if it is worth the expense of having the barrel threaded. SO, also at this point I d not own either to put on this barrel.

 

[Straightshooter1]

I am just in the process of ordering a new prefit barrel for my Savage Switchback 6ARC and my question is this, I have never shot with a brake or a tuner so I have zero experience with either and therefore no idea of the advantage or disadvantage is. So I am wondering if it is worth the expense of having the barrel threaded. SO, also at this point I d not own either to put on this barrel.

It depends.

Like if you have a large caliber gun with a lot of recoil, a break can help with reducing it and making shooting a little more pleasant . . . though sound levels will be a little higher for shooter and those next to you.

As for a tuner, that also depends on the level of shooting you're doing. If you're not shooting bugholes, you probably won't see much improvement, if any.

I've got tuner breaks on both my guns that have heavy bull barrels (.308 and 6.5 PRC) and they work just fine for me. These days, I only do target shooting and am somewhat OCD about my brass prep and loading.

 

[Bill Norris]

I am just in the process of ordering a new prefit barrel for my Savage Switchback 6ARC and my question is this, I have never shot with a brake or a tuner so I have zero experience with either and therefore no idea of the advantage or disadvantage is. So I am wondering if it is worth the expense of having the barrel threaded. SO, also at this point I d not own either to put on this barrel.

With the small limited recoil case 6ARC I personally don't see a need for a brake. To each their own.

A tuner can and in most cases that I have seen will help but only if the load has been worked up and developed to the best of the ability to perform top accuracy. The added important key to using a tuner is spending time with it testing and paying attention to atmospheric changes when changing settings to figure out why and how much to turn it.

Adding a tuner will NOT within itself magically make your rifle or the load perform better unless time is spent in the learning curve. Lastly, if the rifle, load, & shooter are not capable of wringing the best accuracy out of the set-up then the tuner will probably serve better as a paper weight on the reloading bench.

One of the best pieces of info tuner related is this video with Tim Sellars on Believe the Target

 

[KMW 1954]

Thanks for the replies. I know it was mostly a pretty generic question and your answers were very understandable. Question is more in line with tuners than brakes.

More on background. I ave been shooting in an informal local league during the winter and we shoot from 100 to 300yds over 10 weeks and each week is a different target. Many of which are proprietary to the league.

The last 3 years I have been shooting a Savage model12 26" varmint barreled model 11 in 223. There are 20-24 members and I have been finishing in the middle of the pack. Until last winter I was the only one shooting a 223! With what I had I was able to maintain .5MOA or just under consistently. Though the leaders are consistently well under .5MOA.

Example for last year of a possible 2000 points, 1st place finisher; 1883. 2nd place 1864. Me, 1339. There seems to be 4 distinct group levels here, 2 in the upper group and 2 in the lower group. The jump from my position to the next position is almost 250 points.

So this coming year I am going to try moving to the 6ARC and see if that makes me a little more competitive. To this end I found this Used 6ARC for a great price and bought it with the intention of replacing the barrel with a 26" Shilen with a 7.5 twist Ratchet barrel. So that's where I'm at and my motivation.

 

[Bill Norris]

Thanks for the replies. I know it was mostly a pretty generic question and your answers were very understandable. Question is more in line with tuners than brakes.

More on background. I ave been shooting in an informal local league during the winter and we shoot from 100 to 300yds over 10 weeks and each week is a different target. Many of which are proprietary to the league.

The last 3 years I have been shooting a Savage model12 26" varmint barreled model 11 in 223. There are 20-24 members and I have been finishing in the middle of the pack. Until last winter I was the only one shooting a 223! With what I had I was able to maintain .5MOA or just under consistently. Though the leaders are consistently well under .5MOA.

Example for last year of a possible 2000 points, 1st place finisher; 1883. 2nd place 1864. Me, 1339. There seems to be 4 distinct group levels here, 2 in the upper group and 2 in the lower group. The jump from my position to the next position is almost 250 points.

So this coming year I am going to try moving to the 6ARC and see if that makes me a little more competitive. To this end I found this Used 6ARC for a great price and bought it with the intention of replacing the barrel with a 26" Shilen with a 7.5 twist Ratchet barrel. So that's where I'm at and my motivation.

Hope it works well for you. Give the tuner a try. Sounds like you are capable of making it work for you.

 

[J.D.Erwin]

With the small limited recoil case 6ARC I personally don't see a need for a brake. To each their own.

A tuner can and in most cases that I have seen will help but only if the load has been worked up and developed to the best of the ability to perform top accuracy. The added important key to using a tuner is spending time with it testing and paying attention to atmospheric changes when changing settings to figure out why and how much to turn it.

Adding a tuner will NOT within itself magically make your rifle or the load perform better unless time is spent in the learning curve. Lastly, if the rifle, load, & shooter are not capable of wringing the best accuracy out of the set-up then the tuner will probably serve better as a paper weight on the reloading bench.

One of the best pieces of info tuner related is this video with Tim Sellars on Believe the Target

What Bill said 100%
Jerry

 

[Rob01]

Definitely get it threaded 5/8-24 which is a very common thread pitch so allows for a lot of options for brakes. The 6 ARC does get help from a brake and it makes it much nicer to shoot behind. Also a tuner does help tune the ammo in some especially with factory ammo. The Patriot Valley Arms Jet4 brakes are great and don't send a lot of blast back at the shooter.

For the tuner take a look at the KSS ATS tuner which screws right on over the existing threading and then you can put the brake or thread protector over it. They work great. I have one on my 6 ARC barrel below.

 

[Straightshooter1]

Thanks for the replies. I know it was mostly a pretty generic question and your answers were very understandable. Question is more in line with tuners than brakes.

More on background. I ave been shooting in an informal local league during the winter and we shoot from 100 to 300yds over 10 weeks and each week is a different target. Many of which are proprietary to the league.

The last 3 years I have been shooting a Savage model12 26" varmint barreled model 11 in 223. There are 20-24 members and I have been finishing in the middle of the pack. Until last winter I was the only one shooting a 223! With what I had I was able to maintain .5MOA or just under consistently. Though the leaders are consistently well under .5MOA.

Example for last year of a possible 2000 points, 1st place finisher; 1883. 2nd place 1864. Me, 1339. There seems to be 4 distinct group levels here, 2 in the upper group and 2 in the lower group. The jump from my position to the next position is almost 250 points.

So this coming year I am going to try moving to the 6ARC and see if that makes me a little more competitive. To this end I found this Used 6ARC for a great price and bought it with the intention of replacing the barrel with a 26" Shilen with a 7.5 twist Ratchet barrel. So that's where I'm at and my motivation.

Sounds to me like it'd be worth a try to get something like Harrels tuner break. I find the radial tuner design works nicely. . . unless you're shoot prone in dirt.

Radial Ported Tuner Brakes

Note: Tuner weight adjusts over top of barrel. On 1" tuners the barrel diameter has to be under 1 inch to fit. On 7/8" tuners the barrel diameter has to be under .875 inch to fit. on 3/4" tuners the barrel diameter has to be under .750 inch to fit. Please specify the caliber in "ORDER SPECIAL...

www.harrellsprecision.com